Tufted fabric with sized weft



Feb 16, 1932. c, ALVQRD 1,845,778

TUFTED FABRIC WITH SIZED WEFT Filed May 31, 1950 INVENTOR Patented eb. 16, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT? OFFICE CLINTON ALVORD, OI WOBGEST'ER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASBIGNOB TO WORCESTER LOOK WORKS, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS I 'I'UFTED FABRIC WITH SIZED WEI'T Application fled lay 31,

This invention relates to that class of fabrics known as tufted fabrics, and particularly to carpets and rugs. The main object of the invention is to overcome the serious shrinking in the width of the fabric during the process of weaving. Another object sought is the perfection of a better and more valuable floor covering by successfully employing a softer and smoother filling or weft yarn in the body of the fabric. A third obect is a new fabric which is manufactured preliminary to the finishing of the final form offabric, and these and other objects as well as methods of manufacture are shown in the drawings, described in the application and pointed out in the claims attached hereto.

Herctofore, in the manufacture of tufted fabrics, it has been necessary to use relatively stiff weft yarn, such as that made from jute, in order that the relative rigidity of the jute will oppose the softer warp strands and thus prevent the weft from crimping under the strain of the warp with the conseucnt lateral shrinkage of the fabric. This s rinking in the width has been serious because each transverse row of pile tufts, in power looms, is inserted by mechanism extending clear across the width of the fabric. Unless the pitch of the fabric at the fell is practically the same as the fixed pitch of the mechanism it is im ossible to properl; insert the ile tufts. uch a tuft insertion device is s own in Fig. 3 of patent to Wyman, 543,820 of July 30, 1895, while some of the loom structure is illustrated inFigs. 1 d 2. In carpet weaving the pitch of thewven fabric is the number of tufts inserte process of hand weaving. It was with the advent of ower looms that the serious consequence of the shrinking of the fabric be came evident, and as it is practically impossible to use temples on pile goods for holdin one. inch of width, or the number of tuftswoven into three quarters of a yard of width. The

1930. Serial F0. 458,052.

in out the goods, because of injury to the pile, and also because temples practically never hold the warp in uniform spacin the pioneers of this class of fabrics resorte to a relatively stifl 'ute weft which would resist the crimping e ect of the cotton warp and thus prevent the shrinkage. But with the call for better tufted rugs, for rugs that were practically of the oriental type, it became necessary to employ a weft yarn that was made of the same material as the warp and at once the fabric shrunk during the process of weavin to such a degree as to shorten the pitch the warp strands so markedly from the pitch of the mechanical tuft insertion means that the tufts could not be properly placed between the strands of warp. Mechanical means as shown in my Patent No. 1,436,619 issued Nov. 21st, 1922, overcomes the difficulty, while this, my new invention, enables me to use successfully a soft or cotton weft without the use of such mechanical means as shown in my patent above cited. The drawings of the loom illustrated in the patent to Smith and Skinner, No. 186,374,

anuary 16, 1877, show, in Figs. and 5*, the usual weaving instrumentalities embodied in a loom for weaving tufted fabrics which include the usual sheddin v and the weft insertion mechanisms. Sue a loom could not weave tufted fabrics while using a cotton weft because the shrinkage would draw the warp strands outof register.

As a general thing cotton warp is used although warp yarns made of wool or any suitable material can be em loyed. But in the construction of high gra e oriental like rugs it is necessary to employ warp and weft of substantially the same material and stiffness for the finished product, so that the feel of the rug will be the same either warp or weft wise. I therefore starch or size my weft yarn until it beconiessuificiently stifi' to resist any harmful crimping effect of the unsized warp and thus I prevent the disastrous shrinking of the fabric.

The sized weft yarn weaves as easily as does the jute yarn. After various finishing operations have been made on the goods the fabric is washed to remove the starch, or size, from method. The resultin the weft yarnand thereupon the weft becomes as soft as the warp and is crim (1 thereby so that the fabric shrinks in wi th. The size employed may be any substance appropriate for such a purpose which can removed from the weft yarn by washingm water, or some adequate li uid, or the size can be removed by any ot er satisfactory fabric is of the so t back type and compara le to the well known Persian carpets.

Heretofore the stiff weft has been of jute and one of the well known troubles with jute is the fact that it cannot easily and cheaply be made into smooth yarn, or at least not comparable to the smoothness of a cotton yarn. When the tufts are of worsted stock, with fibres practically parallel, any of the frequently occurring nubs on the jute weft will separate two adjacent rows of tufts in a manner that is obviously objectionable and which destroys the handsome effect of asmooth and beautiful pile fabric. Almost any grade of a machine made cotton yarn is free from such nubs and therefore it is desirable to use smooth cotton yarn for weft when producin beautiful tufted fabrics, especially with Cu ts'of worsted stock.

Itissometimes desirable to manufacture tufted rugs with the above described smooth cotton weft and not remove the size. This procedure enables the tufts to be composed ofhandsome worsted-like stock which will lie evenly in the fabric because of the non-- existence of nubs which would exist were jute weft used. At the same time the rug remains as wide as it would if jute were used for weft instead of the sized cotton. This is a value ble feature and is accomplished by means of the sized cotton weft in a simple and inexpensive way.

In the drawings Fig. 1 shows a section of a three shot tufted fabric composed of three layers of warp strands with the weft shown in sect-ions. Fig. 2 is a side view of the same with the warp shown' in section. Fig. 3 is a sectional view identical to that shown in Fig. 2 after the size has been removed from the weft, while Fig. 4 shows a variation of theweft from that illustrated in Fi 1.

. In the drawin S 1 is the warp whic "binds the two plies o weft strands together. 2 is the binderwarp which interweaves with the weft strands in the upper ply while 3 is the stuffer warp separating the two plies. 4 represents the strands of weft in the top ply while 5 is the weft in thebottom ply. The tufts are marked 6 and are shown as passing through the two plies with the center of each tuft strand under weft 5 and showing on the bottom of the fabric while the two legs of the tuft strands appear as pile projecting from the body of the fabric on the face of the carpeting. he warps 1, 2, and 3 are generally of unsized cotton but they may be of wool or any suitable fibre. The weft strands 4 and 5 are preferably of cotton which has been sized to stiffen it in order that the strain of the warps may not crimp the weft strands sufiiciently to cause the fabric to shrink laterally to any a preciable extent and revent the process 0 tuft insertion. The SIZGHGITPT ploycd to stiffen the weft may be any one of the substances commonly em loyed for such purpose and preferably solu le in water so that when the fabric is given a water Wash the size is easily removed from the body of the fabric, whereupon the strain of the warp strands will cause the weft to crimp to a certain extent and the natural contraction, or

shrinkage, of the fabric takes place. I do not 1 limit myself to any specific sizing or sul.

stance for stiffening the weft or .to an s cific means for removing it after it has ul lled' its pur ose of holding the fabric out to its origina Kitchwhile the tufts are being inserted. car ting has a soft back as do the commercia oriental rugs, At times I may desire to give a luster to the tufts whereby the colors of the designs will shade because of the sheen fter the removal of the sizing the of the yarn, and the sizing in the weft is preferably of a nature'to be removed during the various manipulations'to'whichfhefabric is subjected. r

In standard tufted fabrics there are seven hundred and fifty-six tufts across a nine foot or twelve quarter yard wide rug and if the weft is crim ed two thousandths of an inch at each tuft t en the ru will shrink one and a half inches laterally. t is evident that in a nine foot wide power loom and with the row of tufts being inserted by mechanical means, 1

having a set pitch across the loom, that some method must be used to prevent a natural weaving shrinkage of one and one-half inches in order to successfully register the pitch of the warp strands with the mechanical pitch. Fi 2 shows my size stiffened weft strands holdin the warp out to the required register while ig. 3 shows in somewhat exaggerated form the crimping of the same weft strands, due to the strain of the war after the sizing has been removed and the abric has shrunk. Fig. 1 shows the weft as being asingle strand as when delivered from a shuttle, wh1le Fig. 4 illustrates each weft shot composed of two strands 7 and 8 as is the case in many tuft weaving looms in which the weft is inserted by means of a needle. Such a method 1s shown in Patent No. 446,177, issued Feb. 10th, 1891. I prefer the method of weft in sertion shown in Fig. 4 for weaving the type of rug illustrated in this a plicatlon.

What I-claim as new an as my invention 1. The method of producing a'tufted rug it p which comprises the interweaving of war yarns substantially free from size with we above specification Ma liil assume com of substantially the same material as t e warp yarns but which has been stiffened b size, introducing tuft yarn into the fabric between said war yarns by means of a mechanical tuft insertion device having an established and permanent lateral pitch and subsequently washing the size from the weft yarn.

2. The method of making a tufted carpeting which consists in interweaving relatively flexible warp arns with a previously similar- 1 flexible we t yarn but which has been rentiered stiff by a dressin of size, inserting between said warp stran s and under said weft strands suitable tufts by means of a mechanical tuft insertion device having an established and permanent pitch, and subsequently removing said size from said weft.

3. The method of making a tufted ru which consists in interweavm strands o flexible cotton warp with sizetfootton weft on a power loom, inserting tufts between the strands of warp by means of a mechanical tuft insertion device having an established and permanent pitch, and subsequently removing the size from the weft by washing the fabric in a suitable solution.

4. The method of weaving a tufted carpet which consists in sizin weft, interweavin it with relatively unsize warp, inserting tuf yarns between the warp strands and under the weft by means of a mechanical tuft insertion device havin an established and permanent pitch and so sequently removing the size from the weft.

5. A tufted fabric composed of relatively flexible" warp interwoven with previously similarl flexible weft but which has been render stiff by a dressing of size whereby the weft strands will not bend and kink from the strain of the warp and allow the fabric to shrink materially in width, and with tuft yarns interwoven with the warp and weft.

6. A tufted fabric composed of a relatively flexible cotton warp interwoven with cotton weft which has been previously stifiened'with a dressing of size whereb the weft strands will not bend and kink rom the strain of the warp strands and allow the fabric to shrink materially in width, and with tuft yarns interwoven with the warp and weft.

In witness whereof I have subscribed the NTON ALVORD. 

